Sunset Hill
by Hart Braeker
Summary: A love united and a disease most foul. A tearful story of a bond to be unbroken, even if it's not understood right away.


_**Sunset Hill**_

_**Starring Bandage Bow and Drift Alee**_

_**By Hart Braeker**_

The crisp Autumn breeze cut through the valley where Ponyville lay and graced the town with a light kiss. The winds eventually crawled up to a generously sized mound which sat just outside of the town's limits. Close enough to be found, but far enough away as to escape from the bustle and noise of those who lived there. The air was sweet and dense, compressed in the humid atmosphere, scented by the voluptuous aroma of Chrysanthemum that grew around the now weary pony who had traversed the hill in order to severe himself from the rest of the world. Drift Alee lay against the soft surface of the hill, and he quietly nodded off for a soothing nap amongst the calm and serene nature abundant.

"I knew I'd find you here..." Said a familiar voice, "Honestly, is this all you do?"

"What, get nagged by a fussy pony?" Drift Alee responded quickly and with much jest, "If so, then yes." He ended with a slight chuckle.

"OH, you know what I mean!" Bandage Bow said slightly flustered by Drift Alee's blatantly apparent benevolence.

"Shouldn't you be off doing a job or something? I know you're always busy with that kind of stuff." Drift Alee sat up a bit, eyes still closed, but ears pricked with the intent to hear Bandage Bow's response.

"This IS my job. Finding YOU!" Bandage Bow exclaimed, "You know I'm not the _**only **_one who has work to do around here."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah... I know." Drift Alee sighed, "You're father works pretty hard too!" He quipped.

"Would you stop? You know very well I mean you! You smug little-" Bandage Bow was about to head into her rant but was suddenly cut off by the incredible view that sat ever-so-easily in front of her, as if it didn't even have to attempt to be magnificent, "Wh- why does the sunset look so different up here, than in town?" She asked utterly flabberghasted, "I don't think I've ever seen it this... Beautiful before."

"It's because you always have your nose in a bucket of suds or caught in a book."

"And you've always got yours up in the air chasing butterflies!"

"Yes. But can you see why now? I can't see _**THIS **_in a book." Drift Alee countered while he gestured toward the effervescent aura that slowly crept along the outer edge of the sun as it made it's final descent behind the mountains, "And I don't know about you, but this makes me totally okay with 'chasing butterflies'."

_**CHAPTER 2**_

Bandage Bow had stood staring at the sun as it set behind the mountain top. There was still a faint glow of vibrant color surrounding the area in which it had fallen behind. Lit only by the forgotten colors of the now set sun, the sky began to change. Beautiful pin-pricks of light appeared in the vast ocean that was the sky. It was as if someone above the clouds had taken a very sharp needle, and stuck the sky millions of times over and over again. And there, right in the middle of it all, was the vibrant full moon. Illuminating the land. Almost as if it had come out of nowhere, the moon now commanded the sky. If one were to look very closely, in fact, they'd have seen a small Alicorn zip down back to the palace at Canterlot. It was then that the night sky had been completed.

"I can't believe this. All these years and I-"

"Haven't seen anything as beautiful as that," Drift Alee interrupted, "I know. That's what I thought when I came up here for the first time, too."

"When did you start coming up here?"

"Only about a month ago. And even when it's foggy or such outside, I can still see it. Without fail, it's every evening."

Bandage Bow wasn't sure how to interpret everything she'd just seen. The beauty had thoroughly overwhelmed her. She sat down next to Drift Alee and they both reclined upon the grassy knoll, far apart but heads touching. Staring up to the sky, Drift Alee spoke,

"How is it that we never seem to really get along?"

"What do you mean?" Bandage Bow asked, genuinely confused.

"Well, you know... We always fight-"

"No, we don't."

"Well, then we're always contradicting each other-"  
"No, we never do."

"Okay, are you listening to yourself-"

"NOPE!" Bandage Bow leaned to look at Drift Alee, and Drift Alee looked back, saw the wide smile on her face, and realized what she was doing. He let out an indulgent laugh and continued,

"I just think we could really be friends if we tried."

"We already _**are**_ friends, Drift. I don't see what the big idea is..."

"... Okay, I guess. Maybe it's just me."

"Maybe." Bandage Bow giggled.

"Maybe..." Drift Alee whispered to the stars.

_**CHAPTER 3**_

The seconds the two ponies lay upon the hill grew into minutes. Minutes to hours. Finally, the two headed home to end the evening. The next day however, ended the same way. Soon it became hours they stayed there upon the hill. Soon it became days, and days turned to weeks. Although there was work to be done, and chores to be completed, they would always find themselves at the top of the hill before the day was out. The beauty of the setting sun nearly grew over night, and waited for the two ponies' return each day. Weeks and weeks had gone by and the routine was unchanging. But one evening, Bandage Bow didn't show up at the regular time. As any good friend would do, Drift Alee waited for her arrival, and after the sun had set completely, he began to get worried. It had gotten to the point that even Bandage Bow, the most responsible pony he knew, was skipping out on chores on the thought of "I'll do them tomorrow..." just to be able to see the sunset. Drift Alee knew that at this point, Bandage Bow wouldn't have missed this for the world.

Drift Alee headed into town. He first checked Bandage Bow's house, which oddly enough, was empty. Her parents, nor her pet were nowhere to be found. He then checked the library, but Twilight Sparkle hadn't seen Badnage Bow anywhere, and the last time she saw her was a couple days ago. Drift Alee had seen her only yesterday, so there was something wrong. Bandage Bow not studying up for her exams? Strange. It definitely was _**NOT **_like her to do things like that. Drift Alee constantly shirked off his responsibility, and had a slight shock when he had the thought that maybe he had rubbed off on her, but then quickly dismissed it as the thought it through a second time. After asking the entire Ponyville population, there was still no sign of the pony he was so desperately searching for. It wasn't until he had been approached by Bandage Bow's best friend that he found out what was going on.

Drift Alee ran as fast as he could towards the Ponyville hospital.

_**CHAPTER 4**_

Drift Alee burst through the doors of the Ponyville Mercy Hospital, and demanded to see Bandage Bow at that very moment. After being escorted into her room, Drift Alee noticed her family around the bed. Everyone seemed to be in a fugue state. Nothing more than sad, but nothing more. The room seemed to be suspended in time as Drift Alee stood there, unsure of what to do.

"I came when I found out she was here. What happened?" Drift Alee spoke, winded. A strong pony with a billowing mustache took the floor and began to speak,

"Bandage had been showing symptoms of a condition that's been slowly developing for some time now, and-" he was cut off by a gesture from Bandage Bow, whom looked a ghastly faint image,

"It's a condition known as 'Un Amante de la Muerta', which translates into 'A Lover's Death'. It's medical name is Chronic Necro-amare. It began to develop once I received my Cutie Mark. My special talent is that I can heal the broken hearted. Fix the love that's lost, and help those who need it. I do this by absorbing the pain and the heartache from those around me. Making their lives better... Unfortunately, it was found out a couple years ago that absorbing all this pain and sorrow, although it never affected me directly, really reeks havoc on my body. It wasn't until last year when we discovered that it was getting terminal. I don't have much longer until the sorrow literally takes me over."

"Are- are you serious?" Drift Alee asked, but with great difficulty. His throat began to tense up, and his eyes began to water, "This can't be!"

"But it is. The doctor's said the first thing that it targeted was my legs. I can't walk as of now, but I'll have to go through several weeks of Physical Therapy before I can even think about walking again."

"And I'll help you get there... I promise."

_**CHAPTER 5**_

Each day for three weeks, instead of heading to the hill, Drift Alee stayed at home finishing work, doing his chores, and anything he could to make sure he could make it to the hospital in time to help Bandage Bow. It took a couple days to realize it, but soon after he started helping her with the physical therapy he realized that there _**was **_a reason why they fought so much. Why they never totally got along. Because opposites attract. He was sure she felt the same way, too. There are a couple indisputable facts in the world. One, is the feeling of love. This is something you feel with your whole body, and it was something Drift Alee was struggling with, but was beginning to understand.

Drift Alee made it to the hospital on time, and rushed into the therapy room. There he met up with Bandage Bow. She began to stand from her wheelchair, only to remember she couldn't... Yet. With some work and dedication, walking would be no problem. But it was the time that was the issue. It was still unclear how much she had left.

"Bandage?"

"Yes, Drift...?"

"I wanna talk to you about something."

"Okay, go for it!" Bandage Bow said cheerfully despite her concentration and struggle to flex her right hind-leg.

"Okay. I'm not too sure how long we have to spend togeth-" At that moment, Bandage Bow shot a look so foul in his direction as to say 'shut up, we don't talk about that.'... Drift Alee got the message, "Um, well regardless. I wanted to say that... I know it's weird to hear it from me, of all people. But these past couple weeks have been amazing. The sun, the hill, the night sky... You. And I just wanted to say that I would easily have given all that up each and every night, if I could have kept you. As a matter of fact... Now that I'm thinking of it... I don't think I much noticed the sun or the sky or any of that hardly at all. The fact of the matter is... I think I might really like you." Drift Alee smiled, and looked at Bandage Bow, who was looking rather glum, "Oh... By Celestia, I'm so sorry... I- I didn't mean to-"

"No... Just- It's alright. It's just, I'm not too sure how to say it. But I think we have a problem."

"What?"

"I said, we have a problem. An issue that won't be easy to sort out..."

"What is it?"

"I like you too."

"I see..." Drift Alee understood immediately, "well then, let's make the most of the time we have."


End file.
